The Present Problem
by OneshotPrincess
Summary: "I don't know what to get him," Yosuke admits in a mumble. It's been weighing on his mind for literal ages. "Help me, Naoto! You're my only hope!" Naoto assists Yosuke in finding the perfect present for his partner, the guy who seems to have everything.


**A/N:** Secret Santa gift for KneeDeepInShippingHell on AO3! Also a huge, huge thank you to lod on AO3 for proof-reading this and correcting all my sleep-deprived mistakes :P

* * *

In Yosuke's experience if you want something from someone, the best way to go about it is to ply them with food first. The method's been mostly used on one Chie Satonaka but well— the principle still applies, right?

Naoto is, thankfully, a much more conscientious person than Chie, so they only ordered a milkshake on Yosuke's money. They're sipping it slowly right now while eyeing Yosuke with a thoughtful look on their face.

"What is it again that you needed help with, Senpai?"

"Christmas," Yosuke says without preamble, then slumps onto the sticky food court table and groans. "And Christmas presents." He'd spent all night trying to dig up ideas and then when that failed, he'd taken his guitar and started strumming something mindlessly on the couch until his mother had yelled at him to go to bed already.

Naoto blinks in surprise. "I assume that you're going to be spending it with Yu-senpai, yes?"

"Yeah," Yosuke replies. "At his uncle's place."

His first Christmas with Yu and he's going to be alone with him— jeez, even the thought of that makes his cheeks heat up. Chie had suggested a double date to Okina City but both Yosuke and, surprisingly, Yukiko, vetoed the idea. It's not so bad, hanging around Chie and Yukiko; they make Yosuke feel a little less alone. Nevertheless, his first Christmas with Yu? Yea, he wants it to be spend just the two of them.

"I don't know what to get him," Yosuke admits in a mumble. It's been weighing on his mind for literal ages. "Help me, Naoto! You're my only hope!"

He doesn't know if they get the reference or not but Naoto seems taken aback. "Senpai, I'm— flattered that you think so highly of me, but I really am very inexperienced in matters of romance—"

"I mean it," Yosuke insists. "You're reliable, Naoto, and I know you won't spill the beans to everyone. Plus you're smart as hell just like Yu. If anyone can figure out what to get him it's gotta be you."

Naoto's eyes widen further and Yosuke can see a blush rising on their cheeks at the praise.

"Alright, Senpai," they declare, setting the plastic cup down. "It seems I have no choice. I'll take the case!"

"First order of business should be listing all the information we already have." Naoto clicks their retractable pen on the tabletop. They'd produced a notebook from the depths of their coat pocket and it's now lying open on a fresh page. "Do you have any ideas at all?"

"No," Yosuke almost sighs. Gift-giving is not something he's an expert at. He never really had to get anything for his old friends back in the city. He never gets anything for his dad either, and his mom is a low-maintenance woman— she's fine with just gift cards and department store flowers.

...Somehow giving Yu a card that says 'Merry Christmas! Thanks for being the most important thing that's ever happened to me!' doesn't feel right.

Naoto doesn't look particularly impressed with him, however.

"It's— I don't know, I want to make it special I guess. It's our first Christmas as— well, as you know."

"Hmmm," Naoto taps the pen thoughtfully against their lips. "Second order of business then, I suppose, should be to make a list of everything Senpai likes." They look up at him expectantly.

"Well," Yosuke starts. "Books, for starters. Not really sure what kind though." Yosuke's seen everything from pulp magazines to novels that Kanji could probably use as weapons. "Cats, definitely," he smiles fondly. "And, uh, beef bowls I guess? He spends a lot of time in Aiya. Oh, he's good at sports too. He's in the music club but he's an awful trumpeter— What?"

Naoto, who'd started out writing diligently in their notebook, is now looking at Yosuke with a bemused smile on their face. "Nothing!" they quickly say, hands raised placatingly. "It's nice, that's all, to see how well you know each other."

Yosuke can't help himself; he blushes. Violently. "Yeesh, fat load of good that's doing me right now."

"I think this is a lot to go on actually," they say, turning the notebook so that it faces Yosuke. Naoto's handwriting, Yosuke is somehow unsurprised to find, is just as indecipherable as their texts.

"It's really not much to go on, that's the exact problem. Sure, on the surface it sounds like a lot, but the more Yosuke thinks about it —and he's thought about it a lot— the more superficial it all looks.

"Maybe we should browse through Junes and see what we can find that fits these criteria."

"Hell no!" Yosuke shakes his head vehemently. "I'm not buying him something from _Junes_. That just feels cheap, c'mon."

"...I see your point," Naoto agrees. "The only other options available to us then are either the shopping district or Okina City."

The shopping district. Where pretty much everyone hates Yosuke's guts. Yeah, hard pass.

"Naoto, how do you feel about an impromptu shopping trip?"

* * *

In retrospect, maybe the shopping district would have been a good choice. Better the battlefield you know than the battlefield you don't. Browsing through Croco Fur with Naoto isn't proving to be very fruitful. Then again, it's called _Croco Fur_.

"How about this?" Naoto asks, and Yosuke turns to see them holding up a shiny, white silk shirt with black paw prints all over.

"Absolutely not. Don't even joke about that." Yosuke is not just appalled, he's appalled and _scandalized_. "Put that back exactly where you found out it." The worst part is Yu would absolutely wear that thing. In public, with no remorse even. Yosuke can't let that happen, he has a _duty_ as Yu's partner to prevent travesties like that from happening.

Naoto's lips twitch a little in amusement and Yosuke has to pause his browsing for a moment. Naoto _was_ joking, he realizes in wonder. Yosuke hasn't had much opportunity to hang out with them but usually they're so serious and reserved. It's...nice, to see them cut loose a little.

Yosuke turns his attention back to the accessories display he was eyeing but can't help feel a bit underwhelmed.

"Gahhh, this isn't working," he mumbles. "I'm gonna head out for a bit, okay? You can keep looking I guess."

Naoto gives him a sympathetic look but doesn't try to stop him. Once he's outside, Yosuke puts his headphones on and thumbs through his playlist until he reaches the current bit of music he'd been composing the night before, then starts humming along distractedly.

His main problem is that nothing seems _good_ enough. What do you get the guy who seems to have everything? Grades, looks, skills…Yu could be an airhead sometimes but he's also an organized airhead, anything he wants or needs he's probably already bought for himself.

And more than that, he just _knows_ that his partner's gonna pull out all the stops when it comes to this and he knows nothing he tries could possibly compare. But damnit, _he really wants it to_.

The bell behind him dings and Naoto comes out to stand beside him, drawing their coat tighter against themselves. Yosuke sighs, rubbing a hand over his face when—

"Senpai?"

That is _not_ Naoto's voice.

"Kanji-kun!"

 _That_ is Naoto's voice.

Yosuke spins around to find himself face-to-face with a surprised Kanji, arms full of shopping bags and beside him— oh no. Yosuke's worst nightmare.

"Yosukeeeeeee! What are you doing here?"

Teddie, looking innocent as a button bundled up in his winter clothes. And Yosuke'd thought he'd managed to give him the slip this morning.

"W-well, I could ask you two the same thing!" Yosuke stammers out. No way is he telling Teddie anything about his plans, no freaking way. Telling Teddie something and shouting it from the rooftops with a megaphone are exactly the same thing.

"Shopping," Kanji grunts although he looks a little bit shifty when he says it. "For wool and-and shit. F-for Ma."

Crap, Yosuke doesn't have an excuse half as good. "I- uh, I'm just, you know, hangin' out. Just chilling. Decided to take a day's break. With my good friend Naoto here. You know how it is."

Kanji's furrowed brows tell him that no, he doesn't know how it is. Beside him, he can hear Naoto give a polite cough. Way to be smooth in front of the underclassmen, Yosuke. Just stellar.

"Without me, Yosuke?! You decided to hang out without your beary best friend?" Teddie wails out in reply, arms thrown wide, the absolute _drama queen_.

"H-hey!" Yosuke protests hotly. "You're out here without me too!" Then feeling the need to clarify, he adds, "Not that I want to be spending extra time with you anyway!"

"Yosuke, how rude! I'm only here because I was there when Sensei asked Kanji to—"

Kanji starts violently, dropping half his bags to grab Teddie in a headlock who reacts by wailing out even louder. "Asked us to have fun! Yeah, that's right! Lots of fun knitting and lookin' at wool and—"

This is a nightmare, Yosuke realizes in slow motion. And just like the slow motion in movies, like freaking Final Destination, it still happens too fast for Yosuke to be able to do anything about it. Teddie flails about, crying out loudly for Kanji to let him go, Teddie wasn't going to _really_ say anything incriminating and doesn't Kanji trust their resident bear?

Naoto takes a concerned step forward, and tells Kanji to please desist, they think he might be hurting Teddie like this.

Kanji, ever the considerate gentleman where Naoto is concerned, gets flustered and immediately releases Teddie, who fails to account for the sudden release of his restraints and—

Skids forward on the slippery ground

Rams straight into Naoto who goes right through the door and

Crashes into the Croco Fur display case.

"Shit! Naoto, Teddie! Are you two alright?"

Yosuke runs forward to help Naoto up, only to be stopped by the sight of one very, very furious Croco Fur employee.

Kanji summarizes the whole thing very aptly right then.

"Awww fuck."

* * *

When things go really, really wrong, it's best to start dishing out the food again. This is something Yosuke learned from Yu actually, who always seems to have exactly the right comfort food for every situation.

Yosuke can't go back to Junes though, he's given up every dime he had to the Croco Fur lady. It's little consolation that Kanji, Teddie and Naoto had had to do the same. Still, he feels like he owes Naoto _something_ for dragging them out all the way to Okina only for them to get into an accident and lose all their money in the process.

So here they are now, in Yosuke's kitchen after shooing Kanji and Teddie away, while he warms up some of his mom's leftovers. His mom's not a half-bad cook, even if she's got nothing on Yu. He hopes this offering lasts until he gets his paycheck. Then he can pay back Naoto properly.

"I'm really am sorry," Yosuke tells them miserably as he sets down a bowl of fried rice and chicken in front of them. "This was just the worst."

"It's alright, Senpai. Thank you for the food," they reply, gingerly picking up the chopsticks. But Yosuke can see by how their lips are downturned, by their downcast eyes, that it _isn't_ alright. And he feels awful about it. About Naoto, and Teddie's antics, and the fact that he has no fucking money left—

"This was such a waste of time. I should have just gotten him flowers or something. Now I have a budget of exactly 0 yen and this is going to be the worst Christmas ever-"

"Senpai," Naoto interrupts him, "what's that?" He sees them pointing at the couch.

"...My guitar?"

"You play the guitar?"

"Uh, well, yea, sometimes." Yosuke rubs the back of his neck hotly. Before today, he's only ever shared this with Yu. It's not that he's trying to keep it a secret, it's just that his music inspires a combination of intensely private and embarrassing emotions in him. It'd taken a lot for him to play something for Yu without wanting to explode into a million flaming pieces.

Naoto fixes him with an inscrutable look and Yosuke shifts uncomfortably under their gaze. He feels a little bit like he's being X-rayed.

"Senpai, do you by any chance ever record or compose songs on your guitar?"

...Never bring a Detective Prince into your house. That should be a rule.

"...Sometimes," Yosuke admits in a small voice. "Not— not often but—"

"Senpai. You're an idiot."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Okay," Naoto magnanimously allows. "Perhaps not an idiot. But I do believe the perfect gift has been right in front of your eyes this whole time."

Yosuke follows their gaze back to the guitar on the bed. "Wait, you mean…"

"Think about it. What do we know about Yu-senpai? He enjoys origami. He's presented us with his home-cooked meals on numerous occasions. He took a job folding envelopes. Stands to reason, he would appreciate a gift that was _created_ far more than a gift that was bought."

Yosuke drops his gaze to his lap. "You mean... _compose_ for him?" Even saying it out loud sounds so cheesy. Like a dumb rom-com hero.

"Well, yes. Unless for some reason, you're uncomfortable with it…?"

"It's not that I'm _uncomfortable_ , it's that it's—" It fills him with weird butterflies in his stomach to even think about sharing his music with someone. And those butterflies make him want to barf. Alright, so maybe he _is_ uncomfortable but that's not weird!

Naoto's gaze narrows when Yosuke fails to come up with an appropriate explanation. "I think," they say softly, "that it's a wonderful hobby to have. And we'd all love it if you shared it with us. _Especially_ Yu-senpai."

First Yu, now Naoto. He needs to stop hanging out with people who can apparently see through him like he's a glass screen. But, well... he doesn't exactly have a wealth of options left to him right now.

"...Thanks Naoto. I mean it. For everything today."

"I would say that it was my pleasure, Senpai," they reply with a wry twist on their lips, "and it would only be marginally dishonest of me."

* * *

On Christmas day, Yosuke shows up to Yu's place with his stomach squirming all over the rest of his internal organs. He takes a deep breath, raises his hand, and rings the doorbell.

Yu opens the door and Yosuke's breath catches. Yu looks... _amazing_. It's a weird thing to think but Yu looks so _clean_ and fresh, like he's just stepped out of a shower. His shirt's plain white but crisp, with black slacks— but it's his expression that gets Yosuke. There's a pink flush on his cheeks and his grin is so impossibly wide— a far cry from his usual restraint.

Yosuke likes to hoard these expressions that only he gets to see, like they're some kind of treasure meant just for him.

"Come in," Yu says. "Uncle always takes a late shift on Christmas and I got Nanako a sleepover date with a kid from the daycare." _We've got the house to ourselves_ , is what Yu doesn't say but Yosuke hears it anyway. He tries very hard not to think too much about it.

In the living room, Yosuke's greeted by the sight of a table so laden with food that he's surprised the rickety old thing is holding up under its weight.

" _Dude_."

"Too much?" Yu sheepishly rubs the back of his head. "I might have gone a bit overboard. Nanako helped, and she wanted to try cooking a little bit of everything."

"Man," Yosuke complains. "You're going to make my present look lame by comparison."

"Oh, this isn't your present. This is just dinner."

" _Dude!_ "

Apparently misinterpreting Yosuke's horror, Yu picks up a package wrapped in snowflake-patterned paper resting on one of the dining chairs. " _This_ is your present."

Yosuke takes the package from Yu and realizes with surprise that it's soft. He thinks that maybe present opening should have a bit more ceremony to it, but when he starts picking apart the paper Yu doesn't stop him. So he forges ahead.

The wrapping paper falls away to reveal something soft in a sunset orange colour. He shakes it out to reveal-

"Is this a scarf?" He notices the patchy work in places, where the threads aren't pulled tightly enough. "Partner, did you make this yourself?"

"Uhh yes," Yu smiles. "I've been learning how to knit from Kanji for a while now and I thought it'd be nice to make you something for Christmas. It's not perfect and Kanji helped a lot in some places but, do you like it?"

Yosuke remembers how shifty Kanji looked at Okina and then remembers Naoto's summary in his living room. What a clever, clever person Naoto is.

"I love it," Yosuke says, heartfelt and sincere, and winds the scarf around his neck. Yu beams at him happily. "And, uh, I made you something too. It's...really cheesy, okay? So don't— don't laugh or anything."

"Yosuke! _Of course_ , I won't laugh," Yu looks at him softly, fondly, expectantly. Yosuke swallows against the lump against his throat.

He slings his backpack around and pulls a CD case from it, holding it out to Yu. "I didn't get a lot of time to work on it and a lot of it's just me messing around with old music that was already saved on my computer, but…"

Yu delicately takes the case from him and flips it open. "You made me a CD?" he asks. "With _your_ music?" he says softly.

"Yes," Yosuke cringes. "Don't like, listen to it in front of me okay? Tell me what you think later."

"Yosuke," Yu gives him that grin again, looking at him like he just hung the moon. "Thank you. Thank you so much, for sharing this with me."

And Yosuke _melts_ inside.

Yeah, he thinks hopefully, he's definitely dedicating his next paycheck to their resident Detective Prince.

Later that night, while they're both lounging on Yu's futon and the good food and better company has made Yosuke pliant enough to let Yu play the CD in his room (the best part is how _mesmerized_ Yu looks, Yosuke can't regret this when his partner looks like that), Yosuke's phone buzzes with a text.

 _MISSION SUCCESSFUL? PLZ RESPOND WHEN FREE_

Yosuke snorts out a laugh over the soft melody playing and it seems to jar Yu out of the reverie he's been in since the CD started playing. "What's up?" he asks.

"Nothing," Yosuke shakes his head. "It's nothing."

He fires off a text in reply.

 _mission successful naoto_

* * *

 **A/N:** I call Yosuke an idiot in my fics a lot but I swear I love him so much :')


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